Why don’t rats and mice vomit? A behavioral and anatomical investigation

Laboratory rats and mice are known to lack a vomiting response and the dimensions of the abdominal esophagus might be an important constraint (Andrews, 1995, Physiol. Zool.). However, a broad evaluation of Rodentia is lacking. Here we determined the behavioral responses and esophageal and diaphragm anatomy from 4 of the 5 Suborders.Weused prototypical emetic agents, apomorphine (s.c.), veratrine (s.c.), and copper sulfate (i.g.), which are thought to produce emesis by action on the area postrema, nodose ganglia, and vagal afferent fibers, respectively. None of the rodents, including nutria (Myocastor coypus), beavers (Castor canadensis), mountain beavers (Aplodontia rufa), voles (Microtus townsendii), guinea pigs, and laboratory rats and mice vomited. In rodents,∼72% of the diaphragm area was muscle compared to 100% in emetic control species (musk shrews and cats). The abdominal esophagus was also relatively long and narrow in rodents (esophageal circumference/ length ≤0.7, rodents, vs. ≥0.8 in emetic species). These data indicate, (1) a lack of vomiting is a common feature in rodents, and (2) rodents might have anatomical constraints on their ability to vomit

Noves dades sobre el jaciment paleontològic de la cova de na Barxa

[spa] El yacimiento paleontológico de la Cova de na Barxa constituye la localidad-tipo de la especie Myotragus balearicus, pero sin embargo había permanecido prácticamente ignorado durante muchos años. La reciente catalogación y topografía de la cueva permitió reemprender su estudio paleontológico e iniciar un programa de dataciones radiométricas, mediante la técnica de las series de Uranio. Con su ayuda se ha podido demostrar la existencia de dos depósitos osíferos diferentes cuyos materiales fósiles, aunque lamentablemente escasos, presentan algunas características interesantes; incluyendo restos de Myotragus balearicus, Hypnornys morpheus, Nesiotites hidalgo, Alytes (Baleaphryne) muletensis y otros pequeños vertebrados. Como ambos depósitos osíferos se encuentran relacionados estratigráficamente con varias intercalaciones de coladas estalagmíticas, ha sido posible obtener informaciones cronológicas bastante precisas. La dataciones realizadas indican que el primer depósito osífero tiene una edad superior a 195.000 años, mientras que el segundo depósito osífero debe quedar comprendido entre los 11 9.000 años y los 7.500 años, según estimaciones fiables. En el presente trabajo se exponen los resultados de esta serie de investigaciones, todavía inéditas, incluyéndose la topografía y la descripción de la caverna.[eng] The palaeontological deposits of Cova de na Barxa (Capdepera, Mallorca) provide the type-locality of Myotragus balearicus, an endemic fossil mammal frequently found in Mallorcan cave deposits. This site has been ignored for a considerable time, but a new study has now been undertaken including the survey and description of the cave and its deposits. Stratigraphic correlation and uranium series analysis of flowstone layers has demonstrated that two separate ossiferous deposits are present. These both contain scarce remains of Myotragus balearicus, Hypnornys morpheus, Nesiotites hidalgo, Alytes (Baleaphryne) mule- tensis and other small vertebrates. Uranium series dating shows that the first ossiferous depo- sit is older than 195 ka, while the age of the second is between 119 ka and 7.5 ka

A functional role for the cancer disparity-linked genes, CRYβB2 and CRYβB2P1, in the promotion of breast cancer

Background: In the USA, the breast cancer mortality rate is 41% higher for African-American women than non-Hispanic White women. While numerous gene expression studies have classified biological features that vary by race and may contribute to poorer outcomes, few studies have experimentally tested these associations. CRYβB2 gene expression has drawn particular interest because of its association with overall survival and African-American ethnicity in multiple cancers. Several reports indicate that overexpression of the CRYβB2 pseudogene, CRYβB2P1, and not CRYβB2 is linked with race and poor outcome. It remains unclear whether either or both genes are linked to breast cancer outcomes. This study investigates CRYβB2 and CRYβB2P1 expression in human breast cancers and breast cancer cell line models, with the goal of elucidating the mechanistic contribution of CRYβB2 and CRYβB2P1 to racial disparities. Methods: Custom scripts for CRYβB2 or CRYβB2P1 were generated and used to identify reads that uniquely aligned to either gene. Gene expression according to race and tumor subtype were assessed using all available TCGA breast cancer RNA sequencing alignment samples (n = 1221). In addition, triple-negative breast cancer models engineered to have each gene overexpressed or knocked out were developed and evaluated by in vitro, biochemical, and in vivo assays to identify biological functions. Results: We provide evidence that CRYβB2P1 is expressed at higher levels in breast tumors compared to CRYβB2, but only CRYβB2P1 is significantly increased in African-American tumors relative to White American tumors. We show that independent of CRYβB2, CRYβB2P1 enhances tumorigenesis in vivo via promoting cell proliferation. Our data also reveal that CRYβB2P1 may function as a non-coding RNA to regulate CRYβB2 expression. A key observation is that the combined overexpression of both genes was found to suppress cell growth. CRYβB2 overexpression in triple-negative breast cancers increases invasive cellular behaviors, tumor growth, IL6 production, immune cell chemoattraction, and the expression of metastasis-associated genes. These data underscore that both CRYβB2 and CRYβB2P1 promote tumor growth, but their mechanisms for tumor promotion are likely distinct. Conclusions: Our findings provide novel data emphasizing the need to distinguish and study the biological effects of both CRYβB2 and CRYβB2P1 as both genes independently promote tumor progression. Our data demonstrate novel molecular mechanisms of two understudied, disparity-linked molecules

Infinite systems of non-colliding generalized meanders and Riemann-Liouville differintegrals

Yor's generalized meander is a temporally inhomogeneous modification of the $2(\nu+1)$-dimensional Bessel process with $\nu > -1$, in which the inhomogeneity is indexed by $\kappa \in [0, 2(\nu+1))$. We introduce the non-colliding particle systems of the generalized meanders and prove that they are the Pfaffian processes, in the sense that any multitime correlation function is given by a Pfaffian. In the infinite particle limit, we show that the elements of matrix kernels of the obtained infinite Pfaffian processes are generally expressed by the Riemann-Liouville differintegrals of functions comprising the Bessel functions $J_{\nu}$ used in the fractional calculus, where orders of differintegration are determined by $\nu-\kappa$. As special cases of the two parameters $(\nu, \kappa)$, the present infinite systems include the quaternion determinantal processes studied by Forrester, Nagao and Honner and by Nagao, which exhibit the temporal transitions between the universality classes of random matrix theory.Comment: LaTeX, 35 pages, v3: The argument given in Section 3.2 was simplified. Minor corrections were mad

Spinor condensates and light scattering from Bose-Einstein condensates

These notes discuss two aspects of the physics of atomic Bose-Einstein condensates: optical properties and spinor condensates. The first topic includes light scattering experiments which probe the excitations of a condensate in both the free-particle and phonon regime. At higher light intensity, a new form of superradiance and phase-coherent matter wave amplification were observed. We also discuss properties of spinor condensates and describe studies of ground--state spin domain structures and dynamical studies which revealed metastable excited states and quantum tunneling.Comment: 58 pages, 33 figures, to appear in Proceedings of Les Houches 1999 Summer School, Session LXXI

A theorem proving framework for the formal verification of Web Services Composition

We present a rigorous framework for the composition of Web Services within a higher order logic theorem prover. Our approach is based on the proofs-as-processes paradigm that enables inference rules of Classical Linear Logic (CLL) to be translated into pi-calculus processes. In this setting, composition is achieved by representing available web services as CLL sentences, proving the requested composite service as a conjecture, and then extracting the constructed pi-calculus term from the proof. Our framework, implemented in HOL Light, not only uses an expressive logic that allows us to incorporate multiple Web Services properties in the composition process, but also provides guarantees of soundness and correctness for the composition.Comment: In Proceedings WWV 2011, arXiv:1108.208

The type II-plateau supernova 2017eaw in NGC 6946 and its red supergiant progenitor

We present extensive optical photometric and spectroscopic observations, from 4 to 482 days after explosion, of the Type II-plateau (II-P) supernova (SN) 2017eaw in NGC 6946. SN 2017eaw is a normal SN II-P intermediate in properties between, for example, SN 1999em and SN 2012aw and the more luminous SN 2004et, also in NGC 6946. We have determined that the extinction to SN 2017eaw is primarily due to the Galactic foreground and that the SN site metallicity is likely subsolar. We have also independently confirmed a tip-of-the-red-giant-branch (TRGB) distance to NGC 6946 of 7.73 ± 0.78 Mpc. The distances to the SN that we have also estimated via both the standardized candle method and expanding photosphere method corroborate the TRGB distance. We confirm the SN progenitor identity in pre-explosion archival Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and Spitzer Space Telescope images, via imaging of the SN through our HST Target of Opportunity program. Detailed modeling of the progenitor's spectral energy distribution indicates that the star was a dusty, luminous red supergiant consistent with an initial mass of ~15 M ⊙

Dust in Supernovae and Supernova Remnants I : Formation Scenarios

Supernovae are considered as prime sources of dust in space. Observations of local supernovae over the past couple of decades have detected the presence of dust in supernova ejecta. The reddening of the high redshift quasars also indicate the presence of large masses of dust in early galaxies. Considering the top heavy IMF in the early galaxies, supernovae are assumed to be the major contributor to these large amounts of dust. However, the composition and morphology of dust grains formed in a supernova ejecta is yet to be understood with clarity. Moreover, the dust masses inferred from observations in mid-infrared and submillimeter wavelength regimes differ by two orders of magnitude or more. Therefore, the mechanism responsible for the synthesis of molecules and dust in such environments plays a crucial role in studying the evolution of cosmic dust in galaxies. This review summarises our current knowledge of dust formation in supernova ejecta and tries to quantify the role of supernovae as dust producers in a galaxy.Peer reviewe